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16-787: The Canterbury Plains ( Māori : Kā Pākihi-whakatekateka-a-Waitaha ) are an area in New Zealand centred in the Mid Canterbury , to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District , and in the south they merge into the plains of North Otago beyond the Waitaki River . The smaller Amuri Plain forms

32-630: A northern extension of the plains. The Canterbury Plains were formed from Quaternary moraine gravels transported from the Southern Alps and deposited here during glacial periods in the late Pleistocene approximately 3 million to 10,000 years ago. The alluvial gravels were then reworked as shingle fans of several of the larger rivers, notably the Waimakariri , the Rakaia , the Selwyn , and

48-619: Is endemic to the plains. 43°38′S 172°05′E  /  43.64°S 172.09°E  / -43.64; 172.09 Mid Canterbury The area is mainly agricultural, extending as it does across the Canterbury Plains , rising in the west to the high country . Beyond this the land rises sharply to the main divide and peaks of the Southern Alps. Several prominent peaks lie in Mid Canterbury, most notably

64-481: Is in inland Canterbury , New Zealand's South Island . It is located 35 kilometres (22 mi) northwest of Methven and has a surface area of 47 square kilometres (18 sq mi). The lake is situated in an over-deepened valley formed by a glacier over 20,000 years ago in the Pleistocene era. It currently has no natural outflows. There is a small settlement at the lake. Early colonial explorers found

80-754: The Ashburton River / Hakatere and Ashburton Lakes , the Rakaia Gorge , Pudding Hill , and Rangitata Island . Many corporations, companies, and government agencies within the area use "Mid Canterbury" as part of their names, notably the Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union . A former political electorate of Mid-Canterbury existed between 1928 and 1946. 43°45′S 171°30′E  /  43.750°S 171.500°E  / -43.750; 171.500 Lake Coleridge Lake Coleridge ( Māori : Whakamatau )

96-593: The Rangitata . Part of the Canterbury-Otago tussock grasslands , the land is suitable for moderately intensive livestock farming but is prone to droughts, especially when the prevailing wind is from the northwest. At these times, the weather phenomenon known as the Nor'west arch can be seen across much of the plain. A major earthquake on 4 September 2010 revealed a previously unknown geological fault beneath

112-627: The Canterbury Association, Edward Coleridge and William Coleridge , who were first cousins and both nephews of Samuel Taylor Coleridge . Two other members of the Coleridge family joined the Canterbury Association in June 1851, after the lake had been named: John Taylor Coleridge (a brother of Edward), and John Coleridge , one of John Taylor's sons. The lake is the site of one of the country's earliest hydroelectric schemes ,

128-605: The Canterbury Plains and created a surface rift that offset features by as much as four metres in places. The rivers of the Canterbury Plains have a distinctive braided appearance, which differentiates this area from the plains of North Otago to the south – beyond the Waitaki, the rivers typically have narrower, well-formed channels, rather than spreading across wide shingle depressions, as in Canterbury. Most of

144-596: The Coleridge Power Station, initially completed in 1914 and built mainly to supply power to Christchurch . The project makes use of the difference in altitude between the lake and river (the lake is 150 metres or 490 feet higher). Both the Harper and Wilberforce rivers have had some of their flow diverted into the lake, with up to 100% of the Harper's flow diverted for the power station. The power station

160-595: The Porters Pass Fault, the Cass Fault and the Blue Hill Fault. There is evidence of Māori activity in the area dating back potentially as far as the 13th century. Some nearby archaeological campfires and moa bones were carbon-dated to between 1340 and 1420 AD. Although the area was initially thickly forested, large fires destroyed most of the vegetation between 1200 and 1400. Later,

176-503: The approaches to Arthur's Pass , and increase the southern extent to include the Peel Forest and Orari Gorge . Mid Canterbury has an area of some 6,500 square kilometres (2,500 sq mi) and a population of about 37,500, of whom a little over half live in the town of Ashburton . Smaller towns include Methven, Rakaia, Mt Somers, Mayfield and Hinds. Other features of the region include Mount Hutt and its associated skifield,

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192-550: The country's 23rd-highest mountain, the 3,019 metres (9,905 ft) Mount Dixon . Various points are designated as being the southern and northern limits of Mid Canterbury, but all definitions of it include that area between the mouths of the Rangitata River and Rakaia Rivers , roughly coterminous with the Ashburton District . Some definitions push the northern border north to include Lake Coleridge and

208-504: The lake became an important stopping place for coastal tribes making the difficult journey between the east and west coast s to obtain pounamu : the lake’s abundant eels, weka and water fowl could be used to replenish stocks on the long journey. The lake was named by the chief surveyor of the Canterbury Association , Joseph Thomas , on a sketch map prepared in early 1849. The name commemorates two early members of

224-583: The operation of the Coleridge Power Station killed most of the kānuka in 1914 and rata in 1923. In modern times a mixture of native and introduced plants surround the lake, including matagouri , broom , gorse , briar , coprosma and biddi-biddi . The area of the lake was formed by glacial erosion , probably during the Waimaungan, Waimean and Otiran glaciations. The lake sits close to multiple geological fault-lines , including

240-548: The population of Canterbury lives in a series of large and small towns arranged northeast to southwest along the plains, connected by State Highway 1 and the Main South railway line . These include Christchurch , Ashburton and Timaru , and the smaller Kaiapoi , Dunsandel , Rakaia , Temuka , and Glenavy . Other towns on the plains include Rangiora , Leeston , Lincoln , Darfield , Geraldine , Methven and Waimate . The extremely rare weevil Hadramphus tuberculatus

256-547: The shores of the lake covered in mānuka (or kānuka ), kōwhai , cabbage trees , flax and general swamp plants. The lake was also surrounded by Southern Rata trees and native beech trees. The lake itself was fairly lacking in aquatic plants because of a lack of nutrients. It was known for a population of large eels . Human activity has significantly changed the ecology. Colonial settlers introduced game fish, including rainbow trout , brown trout , Atlantic salmon and Chinook salmon . Changing water levels caused by

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